Scalar Timing in Animals and Humans

doi:10.1006/lmot.2001.1105

Learning and Motivation

Volume 33, Issue 1, February 2002, Pages 156-176

https://doi.org/10.1006/lmot.2001.1105 Get rights and content

Abstract

John Gibbon's lifetime work provided a deep understanding of the mechanisms whereby the time sense indexes the passage of time (its accumulation) and records, that is, stores, relevant time intervals in memory, enabling behavior to occur at the right time. The Scalar Expectancy Theory (SET; Gibbon, 1977) remains the most prominent of the theoretical accounts of animal and human timing. SET deals with the three principle psychophysical properties of timing data: flexible accuracy, multiplicative variance, and ratio comparisons. It differs from many other timing theories in its emphasis on scalar variability, a term that refers to the linear increase in the standard deviation of timing errors as a task's criterion time increases. Recently, research based on the conceptual framework and analytic tools of SET in John Gibbon's lab was expanded from a decades-long focus on nonhuman species to an assessment of timing performance in “normal” and brain-diseased human subjects, aimed at understanding the functional and neural mechanisms underlying interval timing in humans. This review is aimed at showing that animal and human data obtained with a variety of timing paradigms are both amenable to analyses of accuracy and scalar variability under the SET framework. In the second part of this report we discuss advances made in our understanding of neurobiological mechanisms underlying interval timing by taking advantage of the SET framework. Issues awaiting new theoretical developments in modeling time production and perception, as revealed by psychophysical findings of recent clinical research that are still not well understood (i.e., sources of nonscalar variability), are raised at the end.

References (63)

L.G. Allan et al.
Human bisection at the geometric mean
Learning and Motivation
(1991)
S. Clarke et al.
Exploring the domain of the cerebellar timing system
J.S. Freeman et al.
Abnormalities of motor timing in Huntington's disease
Parkinsonism and Related Disorders
(1996)
J. Gibbon
On the form and location of the psychometric bisection function for time
Journal of Mathematical Psychology
(1981)
J. Gibbon
Ubiquity of scalar timing with a Poisson clock
Journal of Mathematical Psychology
(1992)
J. Gibbon et al.
Cooperation, conflict and compromise between circadian and interval clocks in pigeons
J. Gibbon et al.
Toward a neurobiology of temporal cognition: Advances and challenges
Current Opinion in Neurobiology
(1997)
S.C. Hinton et al.
How time flies: Functional and neural mechanisms of interval timing
R.B. Ivry
The representation of temporal information in perception and motor control
Current Opinion in Neurobiology
(1996)
W.H. Meck
Affinity for the dopamine d-sub-2 receptor predicts neuroleptic potency in decreasing the speed of an internal clock
Pharmacology, Biochemistry & Behavior
(1986)

W.H. Meck

Neuropharmacology of timing and time perception

Cognitive Brain Research

(1996)

D.J. O'Boyle

On the human neuropsychology of timing of simple repetitive movements

D.S. Olton

Frontal cortex, timing and memory

Neuropsychologia

(1989)

D.S. Olton et al.

Separation of hippocampal and amygdaloid involvement in temporal memory dysfunctions

Brain Research

(1987)

D.S. Olton et al.

Attention and the frontal cortex as examined by simultaneous temporal processing

Neuropsychologia

(1988)

A. Santi et al.

The effect of scopolamine and physostigmine on working and reference memory in pigeons

Behavioral and Neural Biology

(1988)

C. Shaw et al.

The ability of amnesic subjects to estimate time intervals

Neuropsychologia

(1994)

F.M. Sulzman et al.

Circadian entrainment of the squirrel monkey by extreme photoperiods: Interactions between the phasic and tonic effects of light

Physiology & Behavior

(1982)

J. Artieda et al.

Temporal discrimination is abnormal in Parkinson's disease

Brain

(1992)

J. Aschoff

Circadian timing

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

(1984)

P.L. Brown et al.

Autoshaping of the pigeon's key-peck

Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior

(1968)

D. Brunner et al.

Choice between fixed and variable delays with different reward amounts

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes

(1994)

A.C. Catania

Reinforcement schedules and psychophysical judgments

R.M. Church

Properties of the internal clock

C.L. Dale

Range effects in repetitive time production

Dissertation Abstracts International: The Sciences and Engineering

(2000)

C.R. Gallistel

The organization of learning

(1990)

C.R. Gallistel et al.

Time, rate, and conditioning

Psychological Review

(2000)

J. Gibbon

Scalar expectancy theory and Weber's Law in animal timing

Psychological Review

(1977)

J. Gibbon

The contingency problem in autoshaping

J. Gibbon et al.

Trial and intertrial durations in autoshaping

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes

(1977)

J. Gibbon et al.

Spreading associations in time

Cited by (62)

Direct social perception of others’ subjective time
2021, Cognitive Systems Research
In this paper, I deploy Gallagher et al.’s theory of Direct Social Perception (DSP) to help explain how we perceive others’ subjective time. This process of second-person temporal perception plays an important role in interpersonal interaction, yet is often glossed over in discussions of intersubjectivity. Using A.D. Craig (2009) ‘awareness’ model of subjective time to unify converging evidence that subjective time is embodied, affective, and situated, I argue that subjective time cannot be considered as a hidden or invisible aspect of a private mind, but is partially externally visible through our gestures, expressions, and other behaviours as they unfold within a particular context. My central thesis is that, in face to face interactions, we are able to directly perceive these visible components of other people’s subjective time. This is made possible by our “enculturated” (Menary, 2015) and enactive perceptual faculties. The process of social perception is not a passive, unidirectional affair where static information about one person’s subjective time is transmitted to the other, but rather inextricably linked with action (both at the personal and subpersonal level) and interaction effects produced by a dynamic coupling between participants. Such an enactive perspective reveals how others’ subjective time can be perceived in everyday interactions.
A simple three layer excitatory-inhibitory neuronal network for temporal decision-making
2020, Behavioural Brain Research
Humans and animals do not only keep track of time intervals but they can also make decisions about durations. Temporal bisection is a psychophysical task that is widely used to assess the latter ability via categorization of durations as short or long. Many existing models of performance in temporal bisection primarily account for choice proportions and tend to overlook the associated response times. We propose a time-cell neural network that implements both interval timing and temporal categorization. The proposed model can keep track of time intervals based on lurching wave activity, it can learn the reference durations along with their association with different categorization responses, and finally, it can carry out the comparison of arbitrary intermediate durations to the reference durations. We compared the model's predictions about choice behavior and response times to the empirical data previously gathered from rats. We showed that this time-cell neural network can predict the canonical behavioral signatures of temporal bisection performance. Specifically, (a) the proposed model can account for the sigmoidal relationship between the probability of the long choices and the test durations, (b) the superposition of choice functions on a relative time scale, (c) the localization of the point of subjective equality at the geometric mean of the reference durations, and (d) the differential modulation of short and long categorization response times as a function of the test durations.
Bayesian Computation through Cortical Latent Dynamics
2019, Neuron
Citation Excerpt :
We manipulated the animals’ prior expectations by sampling ts from one of two uniform prior distributions, a “Short” prior ranging between 480 and 800 ms, and a “Long” prior ranging between 800 and 1,200 ms (Figure 1C). The task enabled us to also manipulate sensory uncertainty since measurements of time intervals become more variable for longer intervals, a property known as “scalar variability” (Malapani and Fairhurst, 2002). Since the two prior distributions overlapped at ts = 800 ms, the task further offered the opportunity to characterize how neural representations are independently modulated by prior beliefs.
Statistical regularities in the environment create prior beliefs that we rely on to optimize our behavior when sensory information is uncertain. Bayesian theory formalizes how prior beliefs can be leveraged and has had a major impact on models of perception, sensorimotor function, and cognition. However, it is not known how recurrent interactions among neurons mediate Bayesian integration. By using a time-interval reproduction task in monkeys, we found that prior statistics warp neural representations in the frontal cortex, allowing the mapping of sensory inputs to motor outputs to incorporate prior statistics in accordance with Bayesian inference. Analysis of recurrent neural network models performing the task revealed that this warping was enabled by a low-dimensional curved manifold and allowed us to further probe the potential causal underpinnings of this computational strategy. These results uncover a simple and general principle whereby prior beliefs exert their influence on behavior by sculpting cortical latent dynamics.
A Dynamical Systems Perspective on Flexible Motor Timing
2018, Trends in Cognitive Sciences
A hallmark of higher brain function is the ability to rapidly and flexibly adjust behavioral responses based on internal and external cues. Here, we examine the computational principles that allow decisions and actions to unfold flexibly in time. We adopt a dynamical systems perspective and outline how temporal flexibility in such a system can be achieved through manipulations of inputs and initial conditions. We then review evidence from experiments in nonhuman primates that support this interpretation. Finally, we explore the broader utility and limitations of the dynamical systems perspective as a general framework for addressing open questions related to the temporal control of movements, as well as in the domains of learning and sequence generation.
Computational models of interval timing
2016, Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences
In recent years great progress has been made in the computational modeling of interval timing. A wide range of models capturing different aspects of interval timing now exist. These models can be seen as constituting four, sometimes overlapping, general classes of models: pacemaker–accumulator models, multiple–oscillator models, memory–trace models, and drift–diffusion (or random-process) models. We suggest that computational models should be judged based on their performance on a number of criteria — namely, the scalar property, their ability to reproduce retrospective and prospective timing effects, and their sensitivity to attentional and neurochemical manipulations. Future challenges will involve building integrated models and sharing model code to allow direct comparisons against a battery of empirical data.
Error modulates categorization of subsecond durations in multitasking contexts
2024, Psychological Research

View all citing articles on Scopus

^☆: Our acknowledgments to all the staff of the Temporal Cognition Unit (Katherine Dube, Patrick Kuznia, Sharon Lobo, Brian Rakitin, and Stefanie Trice) that shared with us this difficult time of transition. Correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed to Chara Malapani, Columbia University, Department of Psychiatry, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032. E-mail: [email protected].

View full text

Regular ArticleScalar Timing in Animals and Humans☆

Abstract

Learning and Motivation

Parkinsonism and Related Disorders

Journal of Mathematical Psychology

Journal of Mathematical Psychology

Current Opinion in Neurobiology

Current Opinion in Neurobiology

Pharmacology, Biochemistry & Behavior

Cognitive Brain Research

Neuropsychologia

Brain Research

Neuropsychologia

Behavioral and Neural Biology

Neuropsychologia

Physiology & Behavior

Temporal discrimination is abnormal in Parkinson's disease

Brain

Circadian timing

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

Autoshaping of the pigeon's key-peck

Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior

Choice between fixed and variable delays with different reward amounts

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes

Reinforcement schedules and psychophysical judgments

Properties of the internal clock

Range effects in repetitive time production

Dissertation Abstracts International: The Sciences and Engineering

The organization of learning

Time, rate, and conditioning

Psychological Review

Scalar expectancy theory and Weber's Law in animal timing

Psychological Review

The contingency problem in autoshaping

Trial and intertrial durations in autoshaping

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes

Spreading associations in time

Regular Article
Scalar Timing in Animals and Humans☆